


Within the Cellar Walls

by etherealskies



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: can you tell I like minor characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-11-29 04:28:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11433180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/etherealskies/pseuds/etherealskies
Summary: While Harry, Ron, and Hermione are searching for Voldemort's horcruxes, Luna is doing her best to keep her spirits up in a world filled with growing darkness.  Her hope is tested when she is taken prisoner by the Death Eaters, but Luna has always been determined to make the best of any circumstances, and she decides that this time will be no different.





	1. The Silver Trio

**Author's Note:**

> I've always wondered what Luna's experience in Malfoy Manor was, so I finally wrote about it! To everyone who decides to read this, I hope you like it!

There were Wrackspurts everywhere.  Luna could feel them zooming all over Hogwarts’ train platform even before she put her Spectrespecs on. 

            It made sense, of course, it seemed like almost everyone was having muddled thoughts these days, but it was still unsettling to see so many at once.  As she watched them, Luna could even feel a few start buzzing around her head.  She swallowed hard and tried to find something good to think about.  It wouldn’t do to be distracted at a time like this.

            _Good thoughts_ , she told herself firmly as she wracked her brain.  _Something good, what’s something good?_   She was going back home to her father, and he was going to show her the horn from the Crumple-Horned Sorkack that he’d written to her about, and they would pick dirigibles and go down to the river to catch fish, and maybe for a while she wouldn’t have to think about-

            “Luna? Are you okay?”  Luna turned and felt the last of the Wracksprurts clear from her head as she saw her best friend, Ginny.  She smiled and pushed her Spectrespecs to the top of her head.

            “I’m fine, I was just noticing how many Wrackspurts there are around here.”

            Ginny nodded solemnly.  “No surprise there.  I wonder how many people will actually come back after what the first half of the year was like.”

            “That’s all the more reason for _us_ to go back, though, isn’t it?” A male voice inquired from behind them.  Ginny and Luna whipped around to see their other friend, Neville.  He gave them an embarrassed smile.  “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

            “Don’t be sorry, Neville!  We’re always glad to see you!” Luna reassured him. 

            “And you’re right,” Ginny added, her brown eyes flashing with determination.  “Hogwarts needs us more than ever.”

            “I was thinking we could use the train ride to start thinking of ideas, you know, so we’re ready when we get back from Christmas,” Neville said, lowering his voice so he wouldn’t be heard by any of the other students milling around them. 

            “Good plan,” Ginny said, glancing back at the train.  “Let’s hurry so we can find a good place to talk.”

            It was a relief for Luna to follow her friends into a compartment and shut out some of the chaos of the outside world.  At first she just mostly listened to them talk, turning their ideas over in her mind.  Eventually, from their plan to graffiti the walls of Hogsmeade with the D.A.’s slogans, she came up with the idea of modifying Harry’s wanted posters.  “We could write over them, or we could look for a spell that would change their appearance.  That might take a while, though.”

            “I say we just write all over them!” Neville said enthusiastically.  “We could say things like ‘Stand with Harry Potter,’ or ‘We’re still with Harry Potter,’ or, um…what else?”

            “The posters say ‘Undesirable Number One, so we could change it somehow to make it say that he is desirable,” Luna suggested.

            “Luna!” Ginny exclaimed, her cheeks turning pink.

            “We want Harry to help us fight, don’t we?” Luna explained.  “So that’s something we _desire_ –”

            She was cut short when the train came to an abrupt stop.  Instantly, the atmosphere in the compartment became tense as the three of them stood and drew their wands.  Soon, they could hear the sound of heavy footsteps moving down the corridor.  It was quickly accompanied by harsh voices and the frightened cries of students.

            Luna inched closer to the door, all of her muscles tight with apprehension.  If she got close enough, maybe she could surprise whoever it was before they could do anything.

            Her movements meant that she was directly in the center of the doorway when the door flew open and a pair of rough hands grabbed her. 

            _“Luna!”_ Neville’s voice cried from behind her.

            “Let go of her!” Ginny demanded.

            The man in the doorway ignored them.  He leaned closer to Luna, his black Death Eater robes brushing against her arms.  “What’s your name, girl?” He asked harshly.  Luna was silent.  The man scowled and pressed the tip of his wand against her throat, causing a new wave of fear to wash over her.  “Answer the question!”

“Luna Lovegood,” she whispered.

“Lovegood?” the man repeated.  Without loosening his grip, he turned to call into the corridor.  “Selwyn, come here!”

A second Death Eater appeared behind him, holding his wand at the ready.  “I think I’ve found Lovegood’s daughter,” the first man said.

Selwyn looked at Luna with keen interest.  “The crazy writer?  Well then, you just might be very useful to us.”

 “If you don’t let her go,” Ginny said furiously. “I’ll-”

“You’ll do nothing!” the first Death Eater snapped, turning Luna so that she was positioned directly in front of him.  “Your friend is going to be very valuable to the Dark Lord’s cause.”

Luna could see Ginny and Neville’s faces now.  Their wands were still up, but their faces were full of fear.  Through her own terror, Luna felt a small glimmer of surprise.  Did she really mean that much to them?

“Bring her to the Manor, Travers,” Selwyn said, not taking his eyes off Luna’s friends. “We’re finished here.”

Luna wanted to say something, like _Keep going without me,_ or _Don’t worry_ , or _I’m sorry I let them get me_ , but before she could speak she felt a tug in her body as the Death Eaters Disapparated off the train and took her with them.


	2. Mr. Ollivander

As soon as they apparated in front of a pair of tall iron gates, Selwyn reached out and snatched Luna’s wand out of her hand.  He tucked it into his robes as he strode up to the gates.  Travers followed, pulling Luna along with him.  He took one hand off of her to make some kind of gesture she couldn’t see, and the three of them passed straight through the gates as if they were made of mist. 

            The gates led to a long, snow-covered driveway.  At the end of it was a large, ornate manor, its windows glittering against the snowy backdrop.  It was beautiful, and it make Luna’s stomach churn. 

            “Shoo! Get out of the way! Stupid bird!” Selwyn’s irritated voice came from in front of her.  A patch of snow on the driveway seemed to move, coming into Luna’s focus as a gorgeous, pure white peacock.  It stared at them as they passed, and Luna stared back, trying to keep it in her vision for as long as she could.  It probably wouldn’t miraculously rescue her, but it might be the last nice thing she ever saw. 

            Travers shoved her forward roughly.  “Keep moving, unless you want to make things harder on yourself.”

            With the peacock out of her sight, Luna turned her attention to the manor’s doors, which swung open as they approached.  A blonde, elegant-looking woman stood in the doorway, staring coldly at them. 

            “Who is this?” she asked, flicking her gaze at Luna.

            “Crazy old Lovegood’s daughter,” Selwyn replied.  “If he knew we had her, I think he’d be more than willing to work with us.”

            Luna’s throat was tight, and she felt like she might cry from fear, but she couldn’t let anyone speak about her father that way.  “My father isn’t crazy.  He’s brilliant.”

            “Quiet!” Selwyn snapped.  “If we need you to talk, we’ll tell you.”

            “Where did you find her?” the woman asked.  Her eyes were fixed intently on Luna now, like a cat tracking its prey. 

            “The Hogwarts Express,” Travers said.  “We pulled her off and brought her straight here.”

            “Good,” the woman said.  “That means my son will be here shortly, too.  He can take a look at her and make sure she’s the right girl.”  Without waiting for a response, she turned and began to walk back into the house.

            She led them into a large open room and pointed to a tall chair. “Put her there.”

            Travers pulled Luna over to the chair and pushed her down into it.  The blonde woman pulled out her wand and pointed it at her. Thick ropes appeared and wrapped themselves around Luna’s legs, binding them to the chair.  A second set of ropes wrapped around her wrists and bound them together. 

Satisfied with her work, the woman turned to confer with the two other Death Eaters.  There was the sound of a door opening, and a third man entered the room to join them.  Luna recognized him at once.  He had been in charge of the group of Death Eaters who had attacked her and her friends at the Ministry of Magic.  It was only afterwards that she learned his identity: Lucius Malfoy, a high-ranking Death Eater in Voldemort’s army.  It had been two years since that night, but the sight of his harsh face instantly filled her with fresh dread.

The woman pulled him aside and began speaking in a low voice, gesturing over to where Luna was sitting.  He looked over at her appraisingly, as if she was a new piece of furniture that had been placed in the room. 

            Luna had started shaking, from fear or from the large house’s cold temperature she couldn’t quite tell.  She felt oddly empty without her wand, and she could already tell that it would be useless to struggle against the ropes.  She tried desperately to think of good things again, but her mind was blank.  Her thoughts were interrupted when the sound of the heavy front doors echoed through the house.

            The woman instantly hurried toward the sound and Luna heard her call out in a slightly strained voice.  “Draco, will you come in here please?”

            “Mother? What is it, what’s happened?”

            Two pairs of footsteps made their way back into the room, and Luna found herself staring at Draco Malfoy.

            Luna did not particularly like Draco.  In all the time they’d been at Hogwarts together, she’d never seen him be very nice to anyone.  He entertained himself and his admirers by making fun of people, and when he’d heard the other Ravenclaws calling her “Loony” he’d been more than happy to join in.  Everything was so different now, though, and the change seemed to have affected Draco as well.  He’d lost the confidence that had made him act so superior all the time and he’d stopped hexing people for fun.  Over the past year, Luna had seen him become quieter and more fearful until he was almost a completely different person.  He looked afraid now, too, staring at her with an expression that said _You shouldn’t be here_. 

            His mother guided him closer to Luna.  “We think this is the Lovegood girl, but we must be sure before we contact her father.”  Draco was silent, his eyes darting away from Luna.  His mother noticed his reluctance and pulled him closer still.  “This is her, isn’t it?”

            Draco was still refusing to look at Luna.  “Maybe.”

            “There can be no uncertainty about it, Draco,” Lucius Malfoy spoke up.  “Either this is the Lovegood girl, or we are wasting our time on her.  Now, which is it?”

            Draco finally looked up and met Luna’s eyes.  She hoped she wasn’t imagining it, but she thought she saw a trace of sympathy on his face.  The tiniest spark of hope lit inside her.   _Please_ , she thought, praying that somehow he would understand what she needed him to do. _Please, please, please, you don’t need to do this_ -

            “It’s her.”

            The flicker of hope inside of Luna snuffed out as Mrs. Malfoy gave a brisk nod.  Luna could hear her speaking to Draco, but her voice seemed to come from somewhere far away.

            “Take her downstairs.  No, no, dear, leave her hands tied.”

            Draco crouched down in front of Luna, and she noticed that he was shaking also as he performed a severing charm on the ropes binding her legs.  He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of the chair.  His grip wasn’t as rough as Travers’ had been, though.  He seemed unsure of how exactly he should handle her.  “Come on,” he muttered, tugging her out of the room.

            He led her to a set of steep stairs which descended into darkness.  Luna flinched as he prodded her back with his wand, indicating that she should go in front of him.  She moved carefully, inching slowly into the darkness.  When they were nearly at the bottom and the only source of light came from Draco’s wand, she spoke.

            “Draco?”  He didn’t respond, so she decided to continue.  “What’s going to happen to me?”

            He remained silent, and she was ready to give up on talking to him when she heard his voice from behind her.  “You’re going to stay down here for as long as we need your lunatic father to cooperate with us.” The words lacked his usual venom; he sounded almost tired. 

            “How long is that going to be?” Luna asked.

            “I don’t know, Lovegood!” Draco snapped. They had reached the bottom of the stairs now, and he gave her one last shove towards the center of the dark room.  “Don’t move, or I’ll hex you; you know I’ll do it.”

            _I don’t think so_ , Luna thought, but she stayed quiet.  Talking seemed to upset him.  She stayed in the same spot, listening to his footsteps receding back up the stairs.  After a few moments, the door at the top of the stairs shut, plunging the room into blackness.

            Luna took a shaky breath.  There was no need to get upset quite yet, she could still figure a way out of this. 

            “Hello?” Luna whirled around as a feeble voice came from the darkness behind her.  “Is someone here?”

            Luna stepped further into the room, trying to discern where the voice was coming from.  “Yes, hello!  My name is Luna Lovegood, I was captured and brought down here.”

            “Luna Lovegood?” The voice repeated, sounding closer this time.  “Ah yes, ebony wood and unicorn hair, ten inches.  I remember you.”  In the darkness, Luna was slowly able to make out the face of man she’d seen many times before in Diagon Alley.                “Mr. Ollivander!”  she exclaimed.  “So this is where they took you!” 

            “Yes, it is,” Mr. Ollivander sighed wearily.  “I’ve been here for quite a while now.”

            “I know you have; everyone’s been terribly worried about you,” Luna told him.  She held out her hands, hoping that he would be able to see the ropes.  “If it’s not too much trouble, do you think you can find a way to untie me?”

            “Of course, give me just a moment.” His footsteps shuffled away from her again, and she heard him moving things around before he reappeared in front of her.  “Hold still, Miss Lovegood.”  He placed a rusty nail against the ropes and began picking at them with it.  They stood in silence for several minutes while he worked, until the last of the ropes was severed and they dropped to the floor.

            “Thank you, Mr. Ollivander!”  Luna said.  “Now, we must find a way to get out of here!”

            “It’s no use-” Mr. Ollivander began, but Luna was already hurrying back up the stairs, keeping her hand on the wall to guide herself.  When she reached the top, she gave the door handle an obligatory twist, but of course it was locked. Bracing herself against the wall once more, she lifted her foot and kicked the door as hard as she could.  She’d expected the door to a cellar to be old and weak, but it was solid and unyielding.  _It’s okay,_ she told herself.  She still had other ideas. 

            She returned down the stairs to Mr. Ollivander, who was now sitting on the floor.  She noticed for the first time that he looked rather ill.  “May I borrow that nail?” she asked him.

            “You may,” he replied, handing it over to her.  “But I doubt it will do any good.”

            Luna brought the nail back up to the door and tried to wriggle it into the space between the knob and the doorframe.  She didn’t know how long she stood there trying to force the door open, but it felt like a long time.  Eventually, she had to give up before she cut herself with the nail. 

            Now she could feel panic start setting in as she turned to her last resort.  Highly skilled witches and wizards could perform wandless magic, and although Luna didn’t consider herself highly skilled, there was still a slim chance that she didn’t need her wand to escape.  Placing her hand on the knob, she focused all her energy on the locked door and whispered, _“Alohamora!”_   Nothing changed.  She tried again and again.  Still nothing.  She took a step back from the door and concentrated on Disapparating, but without her wand it felt like she was missing a crucial step.  Finally, she sat down at the top of the stairs and let a few tears roll down her cheeks.

            When she made it back downstairs, Mr. Ollivander was looking at her sympathetically.  “I’m sorry, my dear.  I’ve tried everything in all the time I’ve been here, but they’ve made this room impossible to escape.”            

            Luna wanted to collapse on the floor and sob, but she knew that would do no good.  “My father will be so worried about me,” she said instead.  “And he’ll be so sad that I won’t be there for Christmas.”

            “That’s how the Death Eaters operate,” Mr. Ollivander said.  “As for us, there is nothing we can do here but wait.”

            Luna considered that.  Sit and wait in a dark, cold room for someone rescue her, like a princess in a fairy tale.  She shook her head and wiped away the last of the tears from her face.  “There’s always a way out.  Maybe we can’t see it now, but there must be something.”


	3. Draco

That hope helped to keep Luna’s spirits up as she grew accustomed to life in Malfoy Manor’s cellar.  Several times a day, a house elf Apparated at the top of the stairs with a tray of food.  For the first few days, Luna tried to speak to it, but she only got a slightly frightened look in return before the house elf Disapparated again.  After that, she limited her attempts at communication to a simple “thank you” whenever the elf appeared with food.

            The only other luxury they were given was a water jug that magically refilled itself.  Luna tried to use it to wash her hair, but that proved to be more difficult than she imagined, and most of the water would usually end up on the floor.

            Luna hated having nothing to look at but the dark dreariness of the cellar, but at least she still had her imagination.  She would picture sunlight and flowers and all the creatures that she would look for once the war was over, that way she wouldn’t forget anything. 

            When Mr. Ollivander asked what she was thinking about all the time, she was happy to tell him.  She told him all about the creatures she and her father were hoping to find, and he seemed very interested to hear about them.  His weakened condition hadn’t improved since she’d arrived, so she sat next to him as he lay on the floor and told him about all the incredible creatures roaming the world, just like her mother used to do when she was sick. 

            Conversations about the creatures led to ones about her father, and then about her friends in the D.A.  She missed them all so terribly that it felt like an ache in her chest sometimes.  She hadn’t realized that was part of having friends, but when she told Mr. Ollivander about how good and brave they all were, it felt like she was reassuring herself as well as him that everything would be alright as long as they were helping in the fight. 

            As sad as she was to be stuck in the cellar, nothing truly terrible happened for most of the time that Luna was there.  That changed one day when the door flew open and a figure swept down the stairs and descended on them.  A hand shot out and grabbed Mr. Ollivander, dragging him up off the floor.

            “Get up!” a woman’s voice demanded.  “I’ve decided I’m not finished with you yet!”

            “No!” Luna cried. The woman turned to look at her, and Luna found herself staring into the wild eyes of Bellatrix Lestrange.  The manic light in them made her want to back away and hide in one of the dark corners of the room, but she held her ground for Mr. Ollivander.  “Please don’t hurt him, can’t you see he’s ill?”

            “You are in no position to be giving orders!” Bellatrix snarled.  “The Dark Lord is growing impatient, and we know the wandmaker still has things he isn’t telling us.”

            “But you’re only going to make him worse, and-”

            _“Crucio!”_

An agonizing pain ripped through Luna’s body.  It was so intense that seemed to pull the air right out of her lungs so she couldn’t even scream.  Her legs gave out and she collapsed on the cold cellar floor. 

            “There’s plenty more where that came from if you don’t keep your mouth shut!” Bellatrix told her.  With that, she dragged Mr. Ollivander up the stairs and out of the room. 

            Luna couldn’t do anything but lie on the floor taking deep, gasping breaths.  She could feel tears in her eyes, but the shock of the pain had been so great that she didn’t even feel like crying.  Soon, she could hear yelling and cries of pain from the floor above.  _Oh Mr. Ollivander_ , she thought, feeling despair welling up inside her.  _I’m so sorry I couldn’t do anything._

            She had no idea how long she had been lying there when the cellar door opened once again.  She lifted her head up, hoping that Bellatrix had decided to stop torturing Mr. Ollivander.  The footsteps on the stairs definitely did not belong to Bellatrix, though.  They were slower, more hesitant.  Finally, they reached the bottom of the stairs, and by the light of his wand, Luna could see the pale, frightened face of Draco Malfoy. 

            “Draco,” she said, a bit surprised to see him. “You’re still here.”            

            “I’m back,” he corrected her.  “School’s out for Easter holidays.”

            “Already?” Luna said.  She’d had no idea she’d been in the cellar for that long. 

            Draco looked closely at her, seeming to notice her odd position for the first time.  “What happened to you?”

            “Bellatrix Lestrange came down here and cursed me when I tried to stop her from taking Mr. Ollivander,” Luna explained.  She tried to move again and found that she was able to slowly push herself into a sitting position.  Draco winced, and she was reminded of his reluctance to follow the Carrows’ orders to curse the first years.  “What are you doing down here?” she asked when he didn’t say anything.             

            Draco’s eyes roamed over the dingy room for a long moment before he answered.  “I don’t know, Lovegood.”  There was another long pause, and then he spoke again.  “It’s quiet down here.”

            Luna nodded her head.  “I understand.”

            He looked at her now, fear and anger sparking in his eyes.  “You don’t understand!”

            “You wanted to get away from everything out there,” Luna said, gesturing vaguely toward the door.  “I did, too.  Be careful what you wish for, I guess.”

            Draco looked completely bewildered now.  “How are you so calm about this?” he asked.

            “Oh, believe me, I’m not,” Luna assured him.  “But it doesn’t do any good to be upset all the time.”

            Draco shook his head and looked away again.  “So weird,” he muttered.

            Luna decided to ignore that.  “You can sit, if you want,” she told him. 

            “Yeah? And how do I know you’re not going to steal my wand and make a run for it?”

            “Well, first of all, I can’t move very fast right now,” Luna said.  “Second, I’ve been hearing lots of voices from upstairs today, so even if I made it out without you stopping me, I would be completely outnumbered.  I think you’re safe.”

            Draco stood still for a moment longer, and then lowered himself onto the floor next to her.  His wand’s light now illuminated both of their faces, and Luna was glad they could see each other clearly.  “Why are you even trying to talk to me?” he asked.

            Luna shrugged.  “Because you’re not that bad of a person to be talking to.”

            Draco’s eyes widened.  “I _am_ a bad person!  Are you actually insane, or just stupid?”

            “Neither, I hope,” Luna said.  “And I can tell that you’re a good person.”

            “How?” he shot back.  “Because I’ve been trying to find a way to convince myself of that, and I’ve come up with nothing.”

            “You don’t agree with what they’re doing,” Luna said simply. “I could see that at Hogwarts, and I can see it here, too.”

            Draco dropped his gaze to the floor.  “It’s for my family,” he said quietly.  “I have to keep them safe.”

            That made Luna think of her father.  Was he still writing, or had that same reasoning caused him to stop?  Keeping people informed was the most important thing, but she couldn’t be sure that her father would see it that way now.

            When she looked back at Draco, he was staring at her with a strange expression.  “What are you staring at?” she asked. 

            He gave a small smile.  It was a nice smile, not like the smug, self-satisfied ones Luna was used to seeing on him.  “I was thinking that, if no one knew who you were, I could probably pass you off as a Malfoy.  You’ve got the look.”

            For the first time in far too long, Luna laughed.  “The _look?_ ”

            Draco’s smile widened.  “That’s what my mother calls it, the Malfoy look. The hair, the eyes.  No one would’ve come after you if they thought you were one of us.”

            Luna shook her head. “No, I don’t think that would work.  Anyway-” _I wouldn’t want to play that part.  I wouldn’t want to act like that_.  “-I wouldn’t want anyone to lie for me,” she finished.  She didn’t want to hurt his feelings. 

            The relative quiet of the room was shattered when the door was flung open.  Draco frantically extinguished his wand’s light as someone shoved Mr. Ollivander through the door and slammed it behind him. 

            “Oh no,” Luna whispered.  She forced herself to stand and ignored the pain that still coursed through her body.  She made her way up the stairs as quickly as she could and found Mr. Ollivander lying near the top.  She lifted him up carefully and found that he was trembling violently. “I’m sorry, Mr. Ollivander,” she said in a shaky voice.

            “This isn’t your fault, my dear,” he said weakly as she began to guide him slowly down the stairs.

When they reached the bottom, Luna noticed that Draco was once again providing light with his wand, the frightened expression back on his face once more.  She gave him a nod of thanks as she moved Mr. Ollivander near the water jug and helped him lie on the floor.  While she was trying to figure out the best way to get him to drink from it, the door opened and Mrs. Malfoy’s voice carried down to them.

            “Draco, there you are!  Upstairs, now.  We think we’ve caught Harry Potter.”


	4. Dean

           Despite her useful imagination, Luna had forgotten how nice it truly was to be outside.Shell Cottage was located by the seaside, and she couldn’t have asked for fresher air than the breezes that came off the sea.The ground outside was covered with all kinds of shells and rocks, and there were usually nice puffy clouds in the sky.Luna got into the habit of going outside as much as she could to gather shells or driftwood, or to decorate Dobby the house elf’s grave.It was one of those times, when she was placing fresh sea lavender around the gravestone, that Dean Thomas approached her with the suggestion to leave. 

He’d been held briefly in the cellar on the day that the Death Eaters had almost handed Harry over to Voldemort, before Dobby had saved them all.Luna learned that he liked drawing and painting as much as she did, and they would sometimes sit and sketch together on the spare parchment that Bill and Fleur had, just like two friends.

It was a breezy day when he approached her, and the salty air from the sea was stronger than usual.He stood quietly for a while, taking in the flowers’ arrangement.“Looks nice,” he said finally. 

“Doesn’t it?” Luna replied.“I thought about coming back with different kinds of flowers once the war is over, but these look better, don’t you think?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I think you’re right.”He gave her a careful, searching look before speaking again.“How are you feeling?”

Luna looked at him curiously.“Fine, I guess.Why do you ask?”

“Well, I wasn’t even in that house for a full day, and that was horrifying, so for you to have been there for so long…”

Luna stared out at the sea as she tried to put her thoughts in order.“It’s strange,” she said.“Sometimes I feel the same as I always have, but then sometimes I remember it and it feels like I’m a completely different person.”

Dean scuffed his shoe against the sand uncomfortably.“Well, the other reason I asked is because I think it’s time we joined up with the rest of the D.A. again.If you’re up for it.”

Luna’s spirits lifted at the very idea of it.To be back with all her friends, to be making a real difference against Voldemort – that was all she’d ever wanted during her time in the cellar.“I think that’s a wonderful idea.”

Dean looked relieved.“Cool. The only thing is, I’m not sure how we can get into Hogwarts without being seen.”

“I know how to do that!” Luna said eagerly.“We’ve been using the Room of Requirement as our hideout.There’s a secret passageway that leads from there into the Hog’s Head.That’s how we sneak out into Hogsmeade.If we can get there, we can just crawl straight through to the Room of Requirement.”

“Awesome!” Dean exclaimed. “And you’re sure you’re okay with going back?”

“I’m sure,” Luna said.“The D.A. is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.I was wishing I could go back the whole time I was in the cellar.And I need to see Ginny and Neville again.They were terribly upset when I was captured.”

“Well, yeah, I bet!” Dean said.“Why do you sound so surprised about it?”

“I’ve never had so many people care about what happened to me,” Luna said honestly.

“It’s taken a bit of getting used to.”

“Well, you’re part of the D.A., so you’re going to have a bunch of people caring about you whether you like it or not,” Dean retorted.

“Oh, I do like it!” Luna said.“It’s just that I’ve never had a group of friends like this before.I always wished I did, but I never thought it would happen.The D.A. is better than anything I ever imagined.”

Dean laughed. “Glad to hear it.”They stood in companionable silence for a few minutes, watching the breeze rustle the sea lavender on Dobby’s grave.Dean was the one to break the silence.“So, when should we leave?”

“Well, we need to prepare,” Luna said.“We’ll have to pack everything we want to take with us and figure out the safest way into Hogsmeade.”

“Right, but that won’t take too long, will it?” Dean asked. “The sooner we get there, the better.” 

“Hopefully not,” Luna said.“It’ll be so good to see everyone.”

“Yeah,” Dean agreed.“I hope they’ve all been holding up okay.I’ve heard that things are pretty bad at Hogwarts now, and it just felt so wrong to be away from it all when I should’ve been right there with everyone.”

“I know how that feels.But I don’t think you should be too worried.They all know how to put up a good fight.”

“I really hope you’re right,” Dean said, still looking worried.

“Of course I’m right,” Luna said confidently.She turned back towards the house, her mind already filling with ideas.“Now let’s get ready.Hogwarts needs us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To everyone who read this story, I hope you enjoyed it! Luna is one of my favorite characters ever, so it was such a joy to write her. Thanks for reading, and constructive criticism is always welcome! <3


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